An Unusual Trillium

Toadshade, or Toad Trillium, or Sessile Trillium (Trillium sessile) is a common woodland flower in southern Ohio. Although some may not recognize it as a trillium, it has the same three petals, three sepals, and three whorled leaves.



But wait – this one looks a little odd. That’s because it isn’t the usual Trillium sessile, but Trillium recurvatum – Prairie Trillium. It has the same upright maroon petals, and the same mottled leaves. Here’s a T. sessile for comparison.



There are two main differences. The leaves are not sessile, but petiolate. In English, they aren’t attached directly to the stem (sessile), but instead have petioles, or stalks (petiolate). And the sepals (the small green triangles at the base of the flower) droop below the petals, instead of rising along with the petals – they are curved backward – recurved.



A less obvious, and more variable, difference is that T. recurvatum tends to be taller, with the leaves and flower being held farther off the forest floor.



T. recurvatum shares the same habitat as T. sessile – rich forest floors. The “prairie” in its common name is misleading – it does not occur in prairies. It is basically a midwestern species. It is common in Indiana, but its range barely extends into western Ohio, where it is considered to be a Threatened species.

So when you're walking through the woods of western Ohio in April, take a closer look at those ordinary Toadshades, and maybe you'll find a much rarer plant.

3rd Annual Midwest Native Plant Conference

Great News! The Midwest Native Plant Society conference committee is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 3rd Annual Midwest Native Plant Conference, to be held July 8, 9 & 10, 2011, at Bergamo Center in Dayton, OH. There is a great line-up of speakers, programs and field trips that are designed to "connect you with nature". All the conference vendors will be open to the public on Saturday, July 9, from 9:00 to 4:00 pm.

Registration and lodging forms, speaker, program and field trip information, as well as a conference agenda are all available at: http://www.midwestnativeplants.org.

Visit the website to sign-up to receive information about upcoming events and conference updates. Scholarships are available for young naturalists between the ages of 9 and 18. See website for details or reply to this message for more information.

We hope to see you there! Midwest Native Plant Society, Conference committee

Coming Soon to a Woods Near YOU!

Coming attractions, rated G for everyone. (Cue announcer's deep voice...)

Why is this flower so blue? Why does it hang its head. Find out the answer in the tear jerker, Virginia Bluebells.

A flower finds its rise to fame is up way to soon in the coming of age story, Shooting Star.

A case of mistaken identity causes this flower to question whether it is a fish or a plant in the groundbreaking drama the Trout Lily.

In this lighthearted comedy, someone forgets to bring in the laundry and causes a real scandal. See Dutchman's Breeches hanging out in a woods near you!

Now Playing...

Double trouble and spring is on the way when this duo makes an appearance. Salt n Peppa is in the house!

Above, a delicate innocent blossom, but what lies beneath is a tale of horror one cannot imagine. Come see the thriller Bloodroot, if you dare...



The Beach in November

Yesterday afternoon, I took advantage of the 70+ degree weather to visit the beach.


It’s actually a beach along the Great Miami River, in Shawnee Lookout Park, part of the Hamilton County, Ohio park district. The warm weather notwithstanding, the beach can be a pretty barren place, at least at first glance.


But the butterflies of summer – really late summer that is, or even fall – were still present. We have had quite an influx of southern butterflies this year, and a couple have obviously lingered into November. Despite several sub-freezing nights, this Common Buckeye, Junonia coenia, was still active, and looking not terribly worn.


Much rarer in Ohio, at least in normal years, is this poorly-photographed Dainty Sulphur, Nathalis iole. There were at least five individuals on the beach yesterday, and over 20 were here in September. They normally aren’t able to overwinter in Ohio, even as eggs. But they’ve been here in numbers long enough to deposit eggs, and if global warming gives an extraordinarily mild winter, then just maybe . . .


Except for the willows, there wasn’t much green on the beach. Most of the plants, including these Jimsonweeds, Datura stramonium, were just dried husks. Jimsonweed, while not native, is an interesting, and interesting-looking, plant. In the right quantities, various parts of the plants are hallucinogenic. In slightly smaller quantities, it is deadly.


As they dry, the seed heads split open to reveal masses of black seeds.

These stink bugs, quite possibly Brown Stink Bug, Euschistus servus, either knew the right dosage or, more likely, aren’t affected by the chemicals in the Jimsonweed. More importantly, I just liked the photograph.

Bald-faced Hornet

We found this Hornet's nest in Shawnee State Forest yesterday while hiking with Janet Creamer. It was just a few feet off the ground. Since there appeared to be little or no activity, we ventured closer for a picture. Janet said that most of the time, these Hornet's will leave people alone unless they feel threatened. If a Bald-faced Hornet, Dolichovespula maculata, would happen to land on you, DO NOT swat at it or kill it. That individual will send out a chemical that alerts the rest of the hive, to go into attack mode. Generally, they are not as aggressive as the Yellowjacket and if you leave it alone, it will most likely just fly away.

Their nests are works of art. The location is selected by the Queen. Worker's chew up bits of wood mixed with saliva to form a paste that is spread with their mandibles and legs to form a football shaped paper nest. As winter approaches, the wasps die – except any just-fertilized queens. The nest itself is generally abandoned by winter, and not reused. In the Spring, Queen's will begin the cycle again.

A Major Award

A few weeks ago, our chair for the Midwest Native Plant Conference, Jim McCormac, won a major award.

"A Major Award" from A Christmas Story

No, not that kind of major award...but a very important one, nonetheless. Jim, along with photographer Gary Meszaros, won the Ohioana Book Award for Books about Ohio or an Ohioan. The awards are given each year by the Ohioana Library for fiction, nonfiction, juvenile books, poetry, and books about Ohio or Ohioans with a copyright date within the last two calendar years. The talented authors must be native Ohioans or have lived in Ohio for at least five years.

They won the award for the book Wild Ohio, The Best of Our Natural Heritage. If anyone takes a look at this gorgeous book, they can easily understand why the pair won this award. Filled with Jim's beautiful prose and accompanied with Gary's breathtaking photography, the book belongs on any Ohioan's bookshelf.

Photo by Mara Gruber

Major congrats, Jim and Gary!

Stiff Gentian

Today I visited my friends, Kathy McDonald and Ned Keller. We went to their 20 acre spread in Adams County. What a treat, wandering around on the hilly terrain, checking out a number of cool flowers and other plants. I look forward to going back and checking it out another time to see what other great plant finds are waiting to be discovered.

One of my favorites from today was a real beauty. Stiff Gentian, Gentianella quinquefolia, was still gorgeous despite a few frosts. I loved the light blue blossoms with the dark nectar guides. Quite striking!


Above is a white variety that we found along their drive. In the bottom corner of the pic you can see the blue and white blossoms together on the same stalk.

We also found lots of Shale Barren Aster. Unfortunately, my pics from today did not turn out, but you can see what this flower looks like in a previous post. And for those who may be wondering what the crushed leaves smell like? Not chocolate, but a fresh scent somewhat like Patchouli. :)